Jusui
by shokubai
Summary: The sea is calm in the cape town of Kukimura. The people look at the gentle waves lapping on the shore and feel at peace. Until one day, when the tide washes in a body, and a man disappears. With this new found fear, a group of teenagers get dragged into a age-old battle against a monster who seeks nothing but to drown the village that ensnared her. Friendship and hi-jinks ensue.
1. Prologue

**Re-uploaded because FF was messing up on me and not updating.**

The sea was calm.

It was a fine day, with no clouds, and the water was warm and pleasant.

A few young children splashed in the shallows, their mothers sitting on towels and gossiping in brightly patterned swimsuits.

Further out in the ocean, a lone figure watched them, bobbing on his surfboard.

The sea pushed up against his legs, and he frowned, perturbed at the unsettling feeling he had.

Below the man, further down than any human could go, the sea roiled and spun.

Pairs of eyes glinted, their featureless dark faces turned up towards the distant surface.

A low groan echoed softly across the bottom of the sea, where a small crack was growing larger.

In another spiritual plain, a man with a large nose shuffled a deck of cards while a sharply dressed, handsome man stood behind an elegant bar, cleaning a glass leisurely.

The tastefully decorated lounge was bathed in a blue light, and the only sounds were the quiet hum of a ceiling fan and the tick of a large, strange, seemingly 24-hour clock.

The long nosed man finished shuffling his cards and laid a few on the coffee table in front of him.

As he studied them, the man at the bar set down his glass and leaned over the counter. He asked, "What do the cards say, sir?", his fingers tracing elaborate designs on the bar's surface.

Waving the question off, the other man quietly studied the cards in front of him. He picked his deck up up once more and shuffled it again.

In an oily voice, he intoned, "The Emperor and Magician cards upright," he laid another card down, "the High Priestess upright." His hand wavered with the next card, but he continued monotonously, "The Death card, upright, of course."

He placed more cards down. "The Judgement card upright and the Tower reversed, and the Star and Chariot cards upright."

The two men sat in silence for a moment contemplating the meaning of the mystic cards.

The quiet was broken by a loud chime from the clock. It seemed to re-animate the man at the bar, and he inquired, in an almost bored drawl, "Are you going to tell her about this?" He looked expectantly towards the other man.

The older man shook his head and replied, "She wouldn't believe me even if I told her. She hasn't accepted that open-minded side of herself yet."

Glancing down at his hand, which had continued to draw the patterns displayed there, the man at the bar retorted, "You can't know that for sure, Igor, she seems to be very intuitive." He bit back more defensive remarks before composing himself and stating, in a smooth voice, "Why don't we consult the cards?" He gestured towards them with his free hand.

Igor glared back at him with indignation, "The cards do not serve that purpose, and you would do well to learn some respect, _boy_." The man stuck his tongue out and at him and Igor sighed and muttered to himself. "No respect these days... did better with female attendants... those silly girls busy with their own matters..."

Clearing his throat, Igor picked up his cards and continued on in a normal tone of voice, "Anyway, that doesn't matter now. The cards won't come into effect until a few days from now, and the girl still has a few days of innocence until then," he looked back towards his attendant, "And maybe I'll change my mind before then."

The man at the bar grinned and picked up his glass again, humming to himself as he polished it for the umpteenth time.

And the sea was calm.

**Thanks for reading.**

**It will take a few chapters to get to the plot, but here's the first building block.**

**If you have any comments or questions, or you noticed any errors, send a review.**

**(Oh, and if you would like to know what the card reading means, ask and I'll PM you. :) )**


	2. Chapter 1

"It's because guys are more competitive than girls." China explained. "That's why they prefer being on the actual swim team." She brushed her bangs behind her ear and sipped her juice.

The two girls, Chinatsu and Manami, were sitting out in their school's northern courtyard. They could see Pool A, where both swim teams were meeting for lunch. The sight of two boys jumping into the pool for a race had prompted the two friends to start discussing why the boy's swim team vastly outnumbered the girl's team.

It also verged into the topic of why there were more girls in the Water Aerobics Club than boys.

Manami swallowed a mouthful of her canned coffee and frowned. "I don't think that's true of all of them." She eyed a group of boys sitting in the shade of an oak tree. They were either reading or playing their handhelds, and they seemed calm and content.

She looked back towards the boys on the swim team, and almost all of them were whooping and hollering at the pair locked in a race. '_It's just a matter of person_', she thought, fingering the edge of her skirt.

Chinatsu had seemed to consider Manami's response, and maybe even following the same thought process, she shrugged nonchalantly and responded, "I guess. I know a few bitches who are _really_ pissy if they don't win, and not just on the swim team."

After wincing at the word 'bitch', Manami gave a small smile and chuckled, "Like Oshiro-san?"

The two girls mock-shuddered at the thought of their fierce class representative, and after grinning at each for a second, they burst out into laughter.

The school bell rang, signaling lunch was over, so Chinatsu and Manami grabbed their trash and ran to the trash bins, giggling and pushing each other.

~after school~

Manami and Chinatsu said their goodbyes at the school gate. Chinatsu had a job at a local convenience store, and Manami was going to the school's Water Aerobics team.

Manami stood by the gate, watching as Chinatsu bounced her way down the sidewalk, side-stepping the sluggish students who were in her way.

Running her hands through her short hair, Manami blew out her breath in a puff and turned around before stalking off towards her club.

~at club~

After changing into her school swimsuit, Manami walked into Pool B intent on doing laps before the club officially started.

A few girls and boys were already there, and Manami found herself being waved over towards where the girls had congregated. She went, only slightly hesitant, after noticing that her self-proclaimed rival, a girl so fast she could beat the entire swim team in a race, was also seated among them.

Kaede, the girl who had waved Manami over, smiled at Manami and patted the space on the warm concrete next to her. After making idle chit-chat with her, Manami was surprised when Kaede jumped up and called over the next girl who came in.

Leaning backwards, Manami looked towards Shiyako, her rival, who was talking to one of the few boys in the Water Aerobics Club.

Manami thought back to her and Chinatsu's earlier conversation, and she wondered if it was true that boys were just more competitive as a whole.

It wasn't like the Water Aerobics Club was silly breathing and stretching exercises; for the most part, the teacher in charge most let the freely swim and race as they pleased. But 'Swimming Freely Club' didn't sound good officially, so the Water Aerobics Club was christened as it was.

And, there was nothing wrong with Water Aerobics, Manami mentally chastised herself, they were great exercise, and when the club did actually do them, everyone had a lot of fun. Mostly everyone in Kukimura loved to swim, and they loved whatever form of it they could get.

Plus, the Water Aerobics Club also had a few weeks of lessons where they learned water safety and first aid, while the Swim Team just focused on swimming speed and stamina.

After an incident where she scraped the bottom of her foot against a rock when she was younger, Manami was keen to learn about treating wounds in salt water. She had to sit on the beach, crying her eyes out from the pain and sting of the salt, while her mother and a lifeguard argued on whether they should clean the wound with fresh water or if they should leave it because salt water was a disinfectant.

It wasn't a happy memory, and she was always a bit bitter when she looked at the three scars on her foot and remembered the whole fiasco that had surrounded it.

Shiyako seemed to notice Manami staring at her, so she gave a shy wave while Manami jumped once more as people sat down on either side of her.

On her left, Kaede had turned to talk to another girl, while on her right, the quiet, aloof Kurosawa Chika had taken up the vacant space. Kurosawa never talked much, she preferred to either swim in silence or mess around on her phone than she did to strike up a conversation with her club members.

Manami knew how she felt, Manami would rather swim laps than talk to others, but she did like racing or playing other games in the water every once in a while. She tried every time to invite Kurosawa, but the solemn girl merely shook her head and thanked her politely.

Oh well, not everyone needed a lot of social contact.

A loud blow of the whistle startled Manami from her thoughts. Yamato-sensei waved the club over to her for instruction. Kurosawa tapped her on her arm, standing up slowly. Manami suddenly realized she had staring at people and the air for most of the time before club started. She must've looked pretty out-of-it. And, she didn't even get to swim laps beforehand.

Sighing quietly to her knees, Manami scratched her leg and got up to join the rest of her club.

~after club~

Chinatsu wouldn't be able to hang out today, Manami mused. It was the first of June, and her mother always took their family out for dinner on the first of each month.

Manami was a little bit disappointed to not get the usual daily update from her friend, but she would rather go swim by herself than take Chinatsu's mother up on her offer to eat with them. Suzuki Akemi was a kind, beatiful, lovely lovely woman, but her three youngest children were boys, and they were wild little monsters. The oldest boy, who was what? 10? 11? had a huge crush on Manami, and it always made her uncomfortable to see him staring at her while breathing loudly with his mouth open.

She thought of instances where the three boys had annoyed her and Chinatsu as she tromped home.

There had been the time where they dumped water down her shirt, and the time with bowl of soy sauce, and then the time they somehow filled her entire backpack full of egg noodles. Chinatsu's oldest younger brother still hadn't gotten past the 'terrorizing your crush' stage, so he instigated all these pranks, and more.

It made Manami not want to visit the Akemi household, which was a shame, because the aforementioned Suzuki Akemi was the sweetest, most caring woman in the whole world, and Manami loved her, no matter how many weird look Chinatsu gave her when she said that. Her mother was, to use cliches, sweet as sugar, happy as a clam, and cute as a button.

She was a lovely woman, and Manami loved visiting her. Shame her children seemed to take advantage of her kindness, barring Chinatsu.

Oh well, Manami could always just go to the beach by herself, and berate herself for not indulging in Chinatsu and her mother's company later.

Speaking of the beach, she had reached the part of her path home where one side started to meet the sand.

Manami stopped in her tracks, admiring the sight of the clear ocean in front of her.

She wasn't supposed to swimming after school, not without going home first, but she figured that a quick splash in the shallows wouldn't hurt….

**WOW EXPOSITION**

**Look at all those words! Look at that lack of plot development!**

**Damn, it's almost like I'm writing the Prologue of Kingdom Hearts II.**

**But, by my mental calculations, there's a scene or two of this drivel, and then you get a whiff of the plot.**

**You can almost smell it, in this. And there are a few characters sprinkled in here that will be important later, but you'll have to glean who they are from the irrelevant characters. And then there are characters who are mentioned but not named, so good luck with them. **


	3. Chapter 2

A quick splash in the shallows turned into Manami changing into her spare swimsuit (kept in a locker by the shoreside) and swimming out into almost open sea. She floated there for a while, eyes closed, until she felt a nudge on her side. Manami opened her eyes and immediately gasped and started flailing.

Shimazaki Eiji, the main and only lifeguard of the beach for the past few years, was sitting on his red and gold surfboard, raising his eyebrow at her. "I was just making sure you were alive," he said huskily, already focusing his attention back towards the beach.

The man was a dreamboat; a twenty-something-year old who played the dark and mysterious hero to many a Kukimura teenage girl. During summer break, there were always a few girls who pretended to drown, just so he would have to swim out and 'rescue' them.

Manami admitted that he did make a handsome figure, sitting on his surfboard with the golden sunset- sunset? _shit_ - framed behind him, but she mostly admired him for his skill in the water; how he moved so swiftly and smoothly through it, how he seemed to be part _of_ the ocean.

She flushed dark from two realizations: one, she had been waxing poetic about a boy who was so cool he probably knew how she and almost every other girl and woman in Kukimura felt, and two, she had continued her bad habit of staring at people while she internally monologued.

If Eiji noticed, he didn't say anything about it. Instead, he leaned over to her and offered her a 'ride' back to shore.

Manami was sure this was some pre-pubescent girl's fantasy, to be on a boy's surfboard as he paddled the both of you to shore. Manami just felt awkward, so she tried to make herself as small as possible while at the same time keeping her weight spread out.

She had been meaning to learn how to surf, one of these days, so she wasn't exactly sure how well she was keeping them balanced. And once again, if something was off, Eiji didn't say anything.

It was at this point Manami remembered Okiru.

Shimazaki Okiru was a boy her age, who was a star member on the boy's swim team, and he was also the only person in any swim-related clubs who seemed to take no pleasure in swimming.

He was also Eiji's brother.

And that seemed to be what he was most remembered for, simply because the two brothers were anomalies, almost legends around these parts. They lived in a house on the beachfront, they seemingly had no parents, and Eiji was a dropout who took care of his younger brother by doing the thing he was most passionate about.

Kind of like a fairy-tale. Or a manga. Depended on who you asked.

Manami and Eiji reached the shore in silence, and as soon as Manami slid off onto her feet, Eiji paddled back out into the gentle waves. Manami had the impulse to wave, but the man turned around before she even had the chance to raise her hand.

She almost watched him paddle off into the distance, but Manami caught herself and shook her head. She should really stop staring at people, it was kind of creepy.

Turning herself around, Manami winced as she ran to the lockers.

Her parents were going to be _sooo_ pissed.

-v-v-v-

~at home~

And so they were.

Manami wasn't surprised, and she couldn't even muster up enough teenage angst to find it 'unfair'.

They had told her, multiple times, that she needed to come home and ask before she went down to the beach. Generally she obeyed her her parents, but there was something about the call of the ocean that drove her wild and reckless, and even if she _continuously_ got into trouble, Manami thought it was worth it.

At this point, her parents were more frustrated than mad, and they didn't even yell at her, she just relinquished her cell phone to them and retired to her room after dinner.

Well, now she regretted getting in trouble.

With no phone, Manami couldn't talk with Chinatsu, unless she made the effort to rise up out of her bed and walk over to her computer.

She lifted her head and almost immediately gave up on that dumb idea.

Manami would stay bored and comfortable, _thank you_.

With that in mind, Manami figured that 19:14 was as good a time as any to go to sleep.

Already in her sleep shirt, she drifted off into a light sleep…

~?dream?~

Manami awoke on a blue chaise lounge. Squinting, she glared up at the bright blue-crystal chandelier, and smushed a hand across her face into her eyes.

"Well, it seems you're early." Manami jumped at the unfamiliar voice, and she screamed when she saw the man in front of her.

He had crazed eyes, with wild white hair that was bald on top, and a large, protruding nose.

The man seemed taken-aback, and then amused. He chuckled as Manami pressed her back into the lounge, staring at him in horror.

"My dear, I assure you that I won't harm you. In fact, I'm here to assist you," the man spoke calmly and soothingly. Manami decided, what the hell, she'd trust him. It_ was_ a dream, she remembered with sudden clarity.

As Manami relaxed, the man smiled encouragingly and spoke once more, "I apologize that my appearance startled you, and I've been rude. My name is Igor, and you could consider me a sort of 'spiritual guide' to your oncoming journey."

He continued, "As you go through your ordeal, you will have several restrictions placed on you. Unlike our regular attendants, your Arcana is not of the Wild Card, so your abilities are restricted to your own personal Persona."

"However," Igor droned, "Do not be discouraged, for your power is great, and soon you shall have powerful allies. With their help, you _can_ overcome the trials ahead."

He took a break in his speech and nodded towards Manami. "Do you understand?"

"Huh." Manami said. It wasn't a question, it wasn't even a statement, it was just a noise of pure confusion and exhaustion.

And then, she disappeared.

Igor stared with mild surprise at the place his guest had vacated.

"Huh." He parroted, unwittingly.

Brushing imaginary dust off his trousers, Igor muttered with slight amusement, "That's unusual for the Velvet Room."

"What, people don't usually scream at the sight of you?" The man at the bar responded, still cleaning glasses that didn't need to be cleaned.

Igor growled and whipped his head towards his attendant. "Be _quiet_, Alistair!"

Alistair looked affronted and sniffed loudly, "Well, I know_ I_ did, so that's two-for-two in my book!" He looked exceedingly smug at that point, and he lifted his head so he could stare down his nose at his employer.

"That was more of a low groan, because I reanimated your putrid corpse!" Igor spat, rising from his seat.

Alistair's eyes bugged out and he sputtered, "_Putrid corpse_?! How dare you! I died in combat, I died a hero! I WAS HARDLY A _PUTRID CORPSE_!" The blonde man was yelling at this point, and in a fit of anger he smashed the glass he was holding onto the counter.

"You died because you fell onto your own sword! How was that heroic, you idiotic little demon?!" Igor retorted, his eyes blazing.

Alistair howled, "_IT IS THE THOUGH THAT COUNTS_!"

The two men glared at each other, fury etched in their faces.

Alistair had only recently started his attendancy, and insofar, the two men rarely had a non-business moment were they weren't arguing about one thing or another. But, Igor needed an attendant, and Alistair _had_ signed a contract.

Igor growled and yanked on his hair, spinning on his heel back towards his seat.

"Clean. That. Up." He hissed at Alistair over his shoulder.

Alistair mimicked under his breath, "Meh meh meh!", and with a sweep of his hand, the glass shards were gone.

He picked another glass up, grabbed his rag, and started polishing once more.

**Hopefully my attempt at Igor and Alistair's banter was comedic, and not painfully dumb.**

***finger guns***

**I have a headcanon that Igor's a bit more 'unprofessional' when the Velvet Room's guests leave. I also have headcanon that his attendants make him that way. (Elizabeth the most, Margaret to a lesser extent, and Theo not really at all. He's a polite boy)**

**I'm kind of mes****sing with the theory/idea/headcanon expressed in this fanfic: **** " badx2 bathhouse (dott) livejournal (dott) com (slash) **543. html ?thread= 871455 #t871455 " Remove spaces and quotes, add in periods and slashes. (tell me if that doesn't show, I dunno how to work links on this site.)

**If it doesn't work/you don't want to go there, the gist is that if a Velvet Room guest fails (ie- dies) in their journey, then the contract they signed at the beginning of their journey states that they must now serve as a Velvet Room Attendant.**

**I deviate from it in the fact that Alistair remembers his life before the Velvet Room.**


	4. Chapter 3

They found her dead the next morning.

Her body was floating not far from shore. Apparently it hadn't had enough time to be dragged onto the sand, and it was an old man taking a walk who discovered her.

It was impossible.

Completely impossible.

She had _drowned_.

It had been years, it had been more than _fifty_ years since anyone had drowned in Kukimura.

Arakawa Manami stared in horror at the body that had once been a girl she knew.

~just a lil bit earlier~

Manami was walking to school, her recently returned cellphone held loosely in her hand as she texted Chinatsu. In her other hand, she clenched an anpan roll in her hand that she took the occasional bite out of.

She was walking slower than usual, a weird dream had woken her up out of a deep sleep, and she struggled to reach the same comfort again. Manami figured that as far as dreams go, it wasn't the weirdest she'd had. She wasn't sure why she had woken up like she did.

She hadn't woken up when she dreamed about skinny-dipping in a pool filled with green tea, she hadn't woken up that time she dreamed that Chinatsu was suddenly an elderly man (he was still wearing her school uniform), she hadn't woken up after that dream where she was with that girl and that guy and they— Chinatsu slapped herself in the face with her anpan, her cheeks flaming red.

Great, now she was flustered and embarrassed, and she had anko on her face.

Manami absentmindedly wiped the azuki paste off her face and licked her thumb. In her other hand, her phone buzzed, and a text from Chinatsu appeared.

'ayo mana-chaaan, can i borrow your english homework (^o^;;'

Manami smiled slight and responded: 'sure china-chan, just buy me a kohii at lunch! (=w=)b'

'(ovo)~ easy! done and dooone~' was Chinatsu's reply.

Unable to stop her grin, Manami clicked off her phone and tucked it into a pocket in her backpack. She enjoyed these little moments she with Chinatsu, no matter how trite they were.

She finished off her anpan and started to hum around her last mouthful.

Today was alright. Manami got up this morning with a sick feeling it would be a terrible day, but she guessed she was just being pessimistic.

And now, she was approaching the beach. She entertained the thought of taking her socks and shoes off and running into the ocean for a short wade, but waved it off after remembering 'oh hey, I have school, and remember what happened the last time I went into into the water for a "quick bit"'.

Shame. She'd just have to go later tonight.

She adjusted her backpack straps and quickened her pace.

Maybe if Manami texted her mom and asked, Chinatsu and her could go swimming after school. Chinatsu wasn't that into swimming, but she liked the sun, and she liked seeing Eiji. Chinatsu definitely had a crush on Eiji, but it wasn't serious, and she did realize how unlikely and humorous it was.

The two girls always laughed when they both blushed and acted like idiots when they saw Eiji (for differing reasons). Then again, the two girls laughed about a lot of things. The two of them seemed to generally just love being around each other, and they had lots of fun just hanging out together.

As Manami reached a bend in her path, she grinned and started to run, her good mood getting the best of her.

Her short hair lifted slightly in the wind, and her neckerchief blowing to the side of her neck. She wasn't wearing the greatest shoes for running, and she almost slipped on the loose gravel and dirt path, but goddamn, if she couldn't go swimming, she might as well run.

It didn't take long until Manami slowed down, the reason being she spotted the back of an old man crouched down on the beach.

Manami felt a cold lump in her gut. She wasn't sure if the old man was alright, so she slipped her backpack off and jogged towards him.

The man turned as he heard the scuffs of her feet in the sand, and she was shocked at how despaired his wrinkled face was. She started to quicken her pace but stopped short, send up small waves of sand, as she saw why he was crouched.

It took a second to fully comprehend what she saw, a flash of long dark hair, an open mouth with bulging eyes, a pair of floral pajamas covering a sopping, limp body.

With a mixture of a gasp, a scream, a retch, and a sob, Manami fell backwards, landing with a thump in the sand as she tried to scuttle herself, away from the thing, the _body_.

The girl.

_A_ girl,

A girl in one of the swim clubs, a girl who had been swimming since she still had the reflex as a baby, a girl who would try to run into the ocean every chance she could.

Manami couldn't tear her eyes off this girl.

A girl she _knew_,

A girl who was faster than almost anyone,

A girl who loved water more than she loved air (oh my god _no _don't think that),

It was impossible.

There was no way that Suifu Shiyako had drowned.


	5. Chapter 4

**I'll try to give any warnings on what gross or scary things are in each chapter, if there are any.**

**(Didn't do it last chapter, sorry if the description of Shiyako's corpse freaked anyone out.)**

****There's a bit of vomit in this chapter, if you're emetophobic.**

**Also fair warning, things are a bit depressing in this chapter.**

**It comes with the topic of death. Things should get a bit uplifted next chapter. (and this is a long chapter header sorry)**

Manami started crying.

It was horrible, just horrible.

The old man covered Shiyako with his jacket and reached towards Manami, who shrunk away from him and stared at the lump that had been a girl she had once hated, a girl she envied and admired.

A girl. She was just a girl.

Manami gave a low moan and slowly fell to the side. This was worse than anything she'd ever felt; an overwhelming sadness, a strike of fear, the nervous boiling vomit trying to rise...

She would stayed on that beach for hours, unmoving, but a rough jerk on the shoulder of her uniform roused her out of the catatonic state she was in.

"Get up," was the rough but sympathetic command Manami was given. She looked up to see a dark-haired boy wearing her school's uniform. He looked away from her disoriented gaze towards the old man.

"I called the police. They should be here soon," the boy, Shimazaki Okiru, she realized offhandedly, bit his lip and continued with a small crack in his voice, "If they give you any trouble about finding her, I'll talk to them and make sure they don't think you did..." he trailed off and came back quietly, "...this."

The old man nodded, but didn't speak. He looked back towards Shiyako, Shiyako's _corpse_, and heaved a distraught sigh.

Furrowing her brow, Manami's gaze sharpened on Okiru. He seemed awfully professional with this. In a bit of morbid humor, she wondered how many times he'd had to call the police over drowned girls before.

Her stomach clenched immediately after that thought, and Manami leaned over and vomited her anpan onto the beach. She started sobbing once more.

Okiru jumped at her movements, and then quickly pulled her way from the spot she had soiled. He blinked back tears as bent down and pulled her into a half-hug. Manami took the opportunity to grab his shoulder and pull his body so she could bury her face into his shoulder.

The brave front Okiru put on started to crumble, and Manami felt him tighten the embrace, while he sniffled in her hair.

They stayed like that for a moment, providing the support they both needed. The sound of distant sirens caused them to reluctantly separate, and the two stood up while dusting the sand off themselves.

Okiru coughed and turned away, "Aka-Arakawa-san, right? You should get out of here. The police don't need to talk to you, but they will if you're still here." He spoke to the old man next, "Kobayashi-san, I know they'll need to talk to you. ...Sorry."

Both Manami and the old man nodded, and Manami said quiet 'thanks' to Okiru (who acknowledged it with a 'no problem'), before heading back the mainland.

She crossed the sand and passed her forgotten backpack without even recognizing it.

As she reached the path, she realized she couldn't_ possibly_ go to school. No one else knew what had happened. She had classes with many of Shiyako's friends, how could she see everyone when no one knew she was dead?

Manami scuffed her shoes on the ground and sighed, wiping the remnants of her tears off her face.

She started the long trudge home.

~at home~

When Manami reached her house, as she opened her door, she realized that she had left her cellphone in her backpack. She also realized that leaving her backpack, which not only had her phone but also her schoolwork and a few school books, was not the best idea she'd had. Oh well.

She certainly wasn't going back to the beach for a while, at least until the lure of saltwater swimming wore her down.

Swimming. She shuddered. How could she swim in the same water someone had died in? It wasn't _technically_ the water that had killed her (it was the lack of air- oh my god _shut up_), but still.

It gave her a newfound fear.

Manami had never been scared, not in all her life, of the ocean. It was comforting to her, in fact. Back when she was little and her parents were too busy to entertain the hyperactive mind of a precocious child, her parents would parents would push her and her sister out and command them to play outside.

While Manami's sister preferred to run over to the neighbor boys' house to play, little Manami would make the trip to the beach alone, her swimsuit worn under her play clothes. It was where she met Chinatsu, one day when the girl was bawling because she had drifted out farther than her feet could touch, and the poor kid was freaking out.

Now, these were the days before Shimazaki Eiji, so while the lifeguards were, for the most part, effective, there were always a few who would rather flirt with the girls and young mothers who were sunbathing on the beach.

Usually Chinatsu's mother, Akemi, was watchful over her daughter, but one of those suggestive lifeguards mixed with the crying of her newest child, Chinatsu's first baby brother, had taken up as much attention as she had.

Manami figured she couldn't very well leave the girl distressed and scared, so she had swam out to Chinatsu and pulled her back to the shallows. Chinatsu was understandably grateful, and after a short introduction, the two girls started their long-standing friendship.

It made Manami feel better, thinking about these happy memories of the beach. And then she though of how it was very possible that Chinatsu could have died if things had been different, and her temporary good mood was gone.

By this point, Manami had made way into her house, and after grabbing a box of juice from the fridge, she had sunk down onto the kitchen floor and was currently staring at the tiles while she was lost in her thoughts.

She was broke out of her reverie by a series of thumps on the stairs leading to the family's bedrooms. After a quick moment, Arakawa Kasumi, aka: Manami's older sister, blazed past the kitchen entrance. She stopped suddenly, then came back, seemingly realizing that she had caught a glimpse of someone.

She smirked down at Manami, who glared sullenly back at her, and cooed, "Playing hooky, Mana-tan?" she crossed the kitchen and leaned over Manami to reach the cabinet above her. Manami wrinkled her nose as the hem of her sister's dress tickled it, and scowled and pushed at her leg as Kasumi moved backwards with her prize, a granola bar.

She grinned at Manami and ruffled the little hair that she had before turning around flouncing out the room. She called back, out in the hallway, "You're doin' exactly what your big sis did, baby girl!"

As the front door slammed, Manami snarled and got up from her seat on the floor.

God, her sister was always so infuriating. Manami felt a bit disgusted and sad that her earlier sadness was overcome so easily with just a bit of teasing from her sister.

She sighed harshly and dragged her nails across her scalp.

Goddamn.

Manami felt emotionally drained and physically exhausted, more than she'd felt in a long time.

Dropping her arm, Manami trudged towards the stairs, intent on going to sleep.

**Annnnd, there we go. Hopefully next chapter we'll actually get to touch the plot.**

**I will say, we will see our favorite long-nosed exposition spouter next chapter. Though, surprisingly, he hasn't given much exposition, it's mostly Manami stuck in her thoughts. I hope she gets over that habit when plot actually happens.**


	6. Chapter 5

**Chapters'll be a bit spread out, at least maybe until Winter Break. **

It didn't take long for Manami to fall asleep.

She had already been tired from her lack of sleep the previous night, but the events of the day had just sucked whatever energy she had.

After Manami had flopped herself onto her bed, only pausing to kick off her shoes, she was out like a light.

~?dream?~

Manami wasn't that surprised when she awoke in the blue room again. She couldn't say why, she just had a feeling that she trusted in. After all, her initial feeling today had been right, and look how that turned out.

As soon as she had pushed herself into a sitting position, Manami inquired of the man, Igor, seated across from her, "What is this place?"

Igor grinned at the promptness and replied, "This, my dear, is the Velvet Room. I am Igor, your humble guide," he reached onto the coffee table and picked up a sheaf of papers before rifling through them. "I must say, you quite surprised us earlier when you stopped by before finding out your purpose for this room."

Igor picked out a paper, looked at it, and replaced it back into the stack before starting to talk once more. "The Velvet Room is a place between your dreams and reality, and we shall help you on the journey that has been placed before you."

Manami interrupted, confusion in her face and voice, "Wait, what? A journey? Excuse me, could you please explain?" Manami found it hard to be rude or casual around the elderly, and she also wanted to get as much information from the man as possible.

Smiling in approval, Igor nodded and spoke in an eager tone, "You have been chosen for a destined purpose. The tides of change, no pun intended, have brought forth the need for a hero, someone who is willing to save others without thought for themselves."

The girl raised an eyebrow. She asked, in a dubious voice, "And you think that's me? I mean, no offense, sir, but I'm not exactly a hero, or the saint that you're looking for," she added in a hurried voice, "No offense."

"The cards do not lie, my dear," Igor nodded, "I must admit I had my doubts as well. As one who is not of the Wild Card Arcana, your abilities and use of this room are severely limited. And, most of our guests are usually male, so the idea of a female guest is-"

"Whoa whoa whoa!" and "That is some sexist-ass _bullshit_." cut across whatever Igor was going to say next.

Manami screamed and clutched her chest as she whipped her head towards the voice that had spoken. The man at the counter, the owner of the voice, was looking indignantly towards Igor.

Panting and rubbing her chest, Manami wheezed out, "Holy shi- who the hell are you?" The man turned towards her and positively beamed.

"Hello! I'm Alistair, your lovely assistant!" he spoke in a pleasant voice and bowed. Raising back up, pointed towards Igor with his thumb. "Jeez, I knew that he wanted to withhold information from you, but I didn't know it was because you were a _girl_." Alistair shot a contemptuous look at his boss.

Igor's face was dark red, and his eyes watered as he slowly turned towards Alistair and with a strangled voice, ground out, "_Alistair_. Would you please be quiet and and try not to startle our guest?" Seeing Alistair open his mouth to retort, he shrieked out, "Alistair! Be _quiet_!"

Returning his attention to Manami, Igor tried to compose himself and smiled thinly. "Please excuse my attendant, he's new," his eye twitched, "He's yet to learn the rules of how the Velvet Room operates."

Manami spoke up after listening intently to their exchange, "So he doesn't abide by your rules of information withholding and _gender bias_." She folded her arms and crossed her legs. "Mm_hmmm_."

Pinching his brow and sighing, Igor tried to placate the fuming girl across from him. "That's not what I meant. We've had female guests before, but we just have more male ones." He gestured off to the side. "Most my assistants have been intelligent, resourceful women."

He finished by placing his hands in his lap and saying, "So it's not that the idea of a female guest is surprising in a 'bad' way, it's just _unique_." He smiled beseechingly at Manami, who blew out her breath and uncrossed her legs.

Moments passed in the Velvet Room with a nervous silence.

Clearing her throat, Manami nodded towards Alistair and queried, "So, has he been here the whole time?" Alistair grinned at being mentioned and leaned forward to answer on his own.

"Why yes, I have. Sorry to startle you. I was just trying follow the _rules_." Alistair batted his eyelashes at her and she had to laugh. He was an okay guy. Manami wasn't sure what to think of Igor...

She asked him something that had been niggling at her mind, "So, is it true you withheld information from me?"

Igor responded flatly, "Do you believe in the mystical power of card reading?"

"Hell no."

"Then the information is of no use to you." Igor picked the papers he had dropped earlier up and continued shuffling through them. "Blast, where is that contract..." he whispered furiously as he flipped through once more.

Over at the bar, Alistair waved Manami over with a disappointed look. She approached him hesitantly and took a seat in one of the barstools.

Manami glanced up and down the man, fully taking him in for the first time. Alistair wore a blue vest with golden buttons surrounded by darker blue circles. Underneath, he had a light blue tie and a black dress shirt with its sleeves rolled up to his elbows. Trailing her eyes down his arm, she spotted the glimmer of a silver ring with a thick black '0' imprinted on the surface.

She couldn't tell what his pants looked like, just that they started with black. Maybe if she stood up a little-

"Are you done cataloging my wardrobe?" Manami looked up, startled by Alistair's question. She noticed that his eyes were _golden_, and he had very fair, light blonde hair. She also noted, with a bit of delight, that he wore an odd blue barrette with a large 'A' on the side of his head that was turned away from Igor and the couches.

Alistair laughed and shook his head, his eyes glinting with good humor. "Apparently not." When Manami ducked her head and mumbled an embarrassed 'sorry', Alistair waved it off with a flap of his hand.

"It's fine, there's been a lot for you to take in these past few days. I can't blame you for being a bit spacey." Alistair turned and walked over to shelves of multicolored bottles that were behind the counter. He called over his shoulder, "What's your pleasure?"

Manami's hands fluttered as she called back, "Oh, I don't drink..." She shrugged sheepishly, "I'm only sixteen."

Alistair turned to face her and raised an eyebrow, replying with condescension in his voice, "I _know_. Here in the Velvet Room, we stock everything imaginable. Not just alcohol." Rolling his eyes, Alistair turned back around and grabbed a bottle at random.

He read the label under his breath as he returned to where Manami was sitting. Grabbing a glass off the rack, Alistair spoke to Manami as he poured a foamy white substance into her glass. "Hope you like Oreo milkshake."

Manami watched in wonder as the foam solidified and dark bits floated to the surface. She looked back up at Alistair and asked with concern, "Is this safe? I mean, I don't want to drink some magical shit that makes me explode." She paused. "Or messes with my stomach. I don't want mystical food poisoning."

Grinning, Alistair shook his head and placed a straw in her drink. "I don't think Igor would spend all this time on ya just to poison you with an Oreo milkshake."

Manami shrugged and took a sip. Pleasant. Very sweet and cool. Manami nodded and thanked Alistair, taking a big gulp. She didn't think her hunger from the real world would carry over to her dreams (or "the space between her dreams and reality"), but hey, at least she was getting something.

Her stomach gurgled as she remembered what happened to her breakfast. Manami put the milkshake down and stared at her hands.

Wow. What a day...

Seeming to notice the sudden downcast mood of his guest, Alistair coughed and chirped out, "Shame you aren't a Wild Card. If you were, I could mix up some Personas for you."

Manami frowned. "With Oreo milkshake?" Alistair stopped suddenly and sputtered out laughing. Manami grinned a tiny bit and ran her thumb up the side of her glass.

After curbing his laughter, Alistair smiled and replied, "No, not with Oreo milkshake. With, like, magical parts and ... demons maybe?" Alistair had a befuddled look on his face. "Huh. Never really thought about what it was. Oh well, not important now."

His face hardened. "What is important is that you take this seriously. And part of taking this seriously is believing in all the mystical bullshit that comes with it." Alistair bent down and retrieved a deck of card from beneath the bar counter. "That includes card reading."

Alistair waved his hand before pulling the cards out. "Now I know it sounds dumb and made up, trust me, I thought that too, but it's actually got some merit to it." He shuffled the cards, showing off, while he continued to speak. "The art of card reading gives you a leg up in life. It gives you insight onto what the future holds, no matter how cryptic and bullshit it seems."

After realizing that Alistair was looking expectantly at her, Manami stammered out, "Oh, uh, cool?" She scratched her head and sighed. "Sorry, I'm sure this is all important and helpful, but all this mystical sh-stuff is really hard to believe." Manami dropped her head and murmured, "This whole day is really hard to believe."

**Longest chapter yet. Had to split it into two separate chapters.**


	7. Chapter 6

Tutting sympathetically, Alistair set the deck aside and patted Manami's hand.

He crooned softly, "There, there, dear heart, it'll get better." Manami sniffed and looked up at him. Alistair continued, refilling Manami's glass as he spoke, "A girl may have died, but because of it, you'll gain power and friendship." He smiled eagerly, ignoring Manami's look of alarm, and spoke ecstatically, "You can't tell, but it's already started! You've spun the strings of bonds, and your power is nearly ready to burst out of your chest! If you'll just let me-"

Alistair was interrupted by Igor slamming his stack of papers onto the coffee table. "Where is that damned contract?!" Igor yelled, grabbing onto his head and pulling on his hair.

After a flash of annoyance crossed his face, Alistair called sweetly over to his employer, pulling a folded paper out of his vest pocket, "You mean our dear guest right here's contract?"

He turned back to Manami, while Igor stared at him with a look of pure confusion, and explained, "Since you are not of the Wild Card Arcana, your contract is different than than most of our guests."

Manami raised her hand, then dropped it when she realized it looked foolish. Alistair grinned tightly and asked, "Yes? Is there something you don't_ understand_?"

Squirming in her seat, Manami inquired, "Uh, yeah, what's a Wild Card Arcana?"

Breathing in deeply, Alistair closed his eyes for a moment before replying hastily. "A Wild Card is someone has the potential to use the powers of the twenty-one or so other arcana. It's not even technically an arcana, it's a culmination of _all_ the arcana. The others are restricted to their own specific powers, but the Wild Card can utilize all the abilities of every arcana."

Manami nodded, her eyebrows furrowed. "I guess I get it. But, if I'm not a Wild Card, what am I?" She looked back and forth from Alistair to Igor.

Before Igor had the chance to respond, Alistair unfolded the contract he held and slid it to Manami. He purred, "Sign the contract and I'll tell you." Wiggling his fingers, he manufactured a royal blue fountain pen and handed it Manami.

"Now, hold on!" Igor was at their side in a flash. He glared reproachfully at Alistair, who crossed his arms and sniffed, and turned to Manami. She was glancing curiously at the two men, idly tapping her finger against the pen nib.

Igor gave a strained smile and placed his hand on the contract. He informed her, his voice taught with poorly concealed anger, "My dear, this contract binds you to following the rules of the Velvet Room. Should you fail in your journey, there will be dire consequences for not only you, but all those around you."

He leaned in, and Manami tried to subtly move away as his nose almost poked her cheek. "But don't be discouraged, you were chosen for this destiny. Through the power and bonds you gain along the way, you shall have all the tools you need to harness that future."

Removing his hand, he gestured down at the contract and said, "If you believe you can fulfill this purpose, then by all means, sign your name."

Manami was confused with everything that had happened (Persona? Arcana? Wild Cards?), and to be honest, she was half-delirious from the events of the day mixed with a lack of sleep and the equivalent of a manual of information shoved down her throat.

She figured that whatever would the consequences would be, she really didn't care right now, and hopefully if she signed the contract the two angry men would let her go and she could go back to sleep.

After a quick tap to make sure the pen worked, she quickly wrote her name, '荒川 愛海 (Arakawa Manami)' and handed the contract to Igor.

Alistair leaned over Igor's shoulder and the two of them scanned the paper. Alistair read aloud, in a questioning tone, "Arakawa Aimi?"

Manami shook her head and corrected him. And then she realized that that meant Alistair didn't know her name until now. "You didn't even know my name?" Manami looked between the two men that had essentially kidnapped her subconscious.

Exchanging stares, Igor and Alistair frowned at each other, trying to prompt the other into answering. Alistair broke first, and he sighed, turning to Manami and smiling gingerly.

"We didn't really know shit about you. That's why my boss was calling you that creepy 'my dear' thing-"

"Alistair!" Igor scowled, and continued hurriedly where he had cut Alistair off.

"Well, you see, the cards reveal who the chosen hero is, but they don't give specifics. We knew what you looked like, and the power you had stored, but we didn't know you name, or something like your age-"

"I'm not legal!" Manami exclaimed, leaning back her stool. The clock ticked by in the new silence.

As Alistair laughed in the background, Igor and Manami stared wide-eyed at the other. Igor opened his mouth and closed it repeatedly as Manami slowly edged onto the stool next to her.

Igor coughed and muttered hastily, "I think our business is done here, for now."

He regained his composure and grinned uncertainly. "Sleep, chosen one."

"Sleep, and prepare for the days to come."

Manami slipped out of the bar stool and was gone before she hit the floor.

Alistair spoke first, humor in his voice, "I forgot to explain about Social Links. Damn. I suppose I'll include something on it in the care package I send her."

Honing in on this, Igor frowned and inquired, suspiciously, "Care package?"

"It's just a few things to get her started, don't worry!" Alistair's eyes were big and his smile was innocent. Igor glowered at him before sighing and turning to sit down on his couch once more.

He rubbed his shoulder and called to Alistair in a tired tone, "Whiskey on the rocks, add in some sedatives as well." As he heard Alistair start to shuffle around, he added hurriedly, "And no poison this time!"

Alistair made a face behind Igor's back and put down the bottle of Liquid Conium maculatum.

**Bit shorter b/c it was a technically a part two. Hey! At least we've got a chunk of exposition done.**

**Now we've just gotta introduce a character and then we can get into exposition on Personas and gloss over combat. And also meet the main villain of the story. Yeh.**

**Dang, this is taking longer than expected. I guess you can look at this part of the story as being like the hours long intro of cutscenes in Persona 4... **


	8. Chapter 7

**warning- slight description of corpses, mentions of blood and consumption of blood, parental verbal abuse**

**scooted the plot along a lil bit**

Manami looked out over the ocean, her hands holding her elbows.

The sand was bleak, the ocean lonely and cold. It seemed that no one had visited it since the drowning a few day's prior.

Shivering, Manami sadly wondered how the beach seemed so empty and desolate these days. It was the middle of summer, even if no one was swimming, there was usually a sunny atmosphere.

The light reflecting off the waves onto the warm sand usually made her content and peaceful, but now it seemed harsh and mocking. It didn't seem like the place a girl had lost her life at.

It had been four days since then. Manami stayed home the first two days, from shock and grief, and she had been quietly contemplating her own life since then.

People at school could tell. They didn't know the full story, but they found it suspicious how Manami didn't go to school the day Shiyako was found dead. They found it even stranger when Manami refused to answer _why_ she had been out, if she hadn't been involved. 'It couldn't just be a coincidence,' they said, 'right?'

But how could Manami tell them, 'Oh yes, I was out because I saw her sopping corpse dredged up onto the beach'?

According to the police record, only two people had been to the scene of the crime before the police arrived: the old man who found Shiyako, and the younger brother of the main lifeguard of the beach, Shimazaki Okiru.

At the thought of Okiru, Manami let go of one of her elbows to unconsciously grab her backpack strap.

He had, supposedly, returned it the day of the discovery, after Manami took a nap (or at least after her sister had left), but before Chinatsu had run over.

Chinatsu ended up bringing it in from the porch where it had been placed. She was manic, furiously worried at why Manami hadn't come to school, and why she had been ignoring all of Chinatsu's texts. Manami answered as simply as she could, leaving out the weird not(?)-dream she had.

Upon hearing Manami's story, Chinatsu had swept her up in a hug and Manami found herself crying _again_ that day.

The two girls cried and exchanged stories about Shiyako while Chinatsu made them both tea. They laughed and cried some more, reminiscing about the girl who, at one time, claimed she had sea water in her blood, which was why it was so salty. (that had lead to a whole legend around the kids in town, and kids would try to prove or disprove her by licking her blood when she cut or scraped herself. Manami was a bit ashamed to admit she had tried it herself, and as she and most other kids had few experiences with the taste of blood, they completely believed Shiyako, who, in the folly of childhood, actually did believe in what she said. Ah, childhood...)

When Manami's mom got home, however, she was furious from the call she had received from the school about Manami's absence. By the time Chinatsu had screamed at her the reason why, she had been yelling enough that Manami felt like crying again.

~"You just went swimming again, didn't you?! Damn it, Manami, how many times have we told you you can't just do things like that! Do you want to cause problems for me and your father?! Swim on your own time, not when you have school or you're supposed to be home! God, how did you end up this way! You'll never find a husband with that selfish attitude of yours!"~

Manami didn't cry, however. She might've, another time, but she was too tired and she felt cried out. Even after her mom's uncomfortable apology, she just waved her off and walked dejectedly back to her room, a seething Chinatsu following close behind.

She hadn't been the same since then. Manami didn't blame her mother for being angry (it did seem like something she'd do, and she tested her parent's patience often), and she couldn't have known, but the harsh words her mother said were just too much for Manami on top of the events of the day.

Although her dream and Chinatsu had cheered her up some, it all just fell away and left her with an empty feeling inside.

It gave her the idea that _she_ could die, that the ocean wasn't the kind life-long companion she knew.

It shook her to her very core.

Manami felt silly. She felt dumb. Shiyako wasn't even a good friend of hers, yet it was causing her so much mental distress.

She had seen how Shiyako's close friends mourned, but they did it with brave eyes, pledging to live their lives to the fullest in her stead.

One death of a distant friend, and Manami couldn't get her bearings straight. It was disgraceful on her part...

Sighing her newly developed contemplative sigh, Manami scuffed the sand underneath her shoes. This week was just weird. Weird and sad, and so very tiring.

"Are you alright?" Manami was startled at the girl's voice. Without her noticing it, a girl wearing her school's uniform had appeared next to her. The girl fixed her a level stare, her long, dark brown hair billowing out the sides of her head in a curly, silky mess.

Manami recognized her, as her school wasn't too big, but she couldn't put a name to her face.

Noticing Manami's bewildered look, the girl bowed and introduced herself as, "Fukushi Izumi, let's get along together." Manami said her own name in reply, still trying to figure out why this girl had approached her.

"I asked if you were alright."

Realizing she was being a bit rude to not answer a simple concerned inquiry, Manami sputtered out, "O-oh, sorry, I'm fine, thank you," she smiled weakly, "Sorry to worry you."

Izumi shook her head, and looked down at her hands as she said, "No, no. it's alright. I was just wondering..." she trailed off before suddenly looking up into Manami's eyes.

Manami blushed at her intense gaze, as Izumi completed her sentence. "I was wondering if you came to see it as well."

Confused, Manami muttered 'It?' while she raised her eyebrow.

Izumi nodded and leaned in, whispering excitedly, "Yeah, 'it'! Where they found the body!"

Feeling her heart sink down to somewhere at ground level, Manami stumbled backward as the girl blissfully ignored her and continued on.

"They say some old guy found it, which really is suuuper sketchy. I mean, he could have drowned her and just claimed he 'found her like that'. No one suspects a sweet old man! That's why it was either him or maybe that 'lifeguard' who didn't stay who was supposed to be on duty," Izumi paused for breath, "Really, he should be held accountable anyway, because of negligence."

She opened her mouth to spit more drivel, and Manami shook her head before retorting, "Oi, maybe you shouldn't treat this like some shitty drama! A girl died, you heartless piece of-" Biting off the obscenity, Manami glared and turned on her heel, determined to leave this stupid girl who only wanted to gossip about dead girls.

She was a little surprised when she heard the patter of Izumi's footsteps behind her. Izumi seemed to be trying to apologize, but she sounded mystified, like she couldn't understand why Manami had gotten mad. Manami ignored her and looked up at the sunset as she stomped away.

She'd wasted a good deal of the afternoon hanging out at Chinatsu's workplace and standing here, staring at the beach.

At least her parents had eased up on her. Her mother had apparently told her father what had happened, and the two of them were on tiptoes around Manami, acting like she'd crumble if they just as much breathed on her. Her sister however, was just as apathetic and crass as she usually was.

"Hey!" Manami ignored Izumi's call as the other girl stopped short.

She nearly smacked Izumi when she rushed up to Manami's side and grabbed her arm. "I said, hey!"

"What do you want?" Manami yanked her arm away and snarled at the girl's gall.

Izumi gestured towards the beach, "What is that girl _doing_?"

Frowning, Manami looked to where she pointed and saw something that made her double-check to make sure she was seeing right.

Chinatsu was stumbling across the sand, walking towards the water.

Manami stared at her friend's retreating back. What? What was she doing here? Didn't she have work for another hour or so?

"Weird." Izumi cocked her head at Chinatsu. "Didn't think anyone would try swimming for at least another week."

Being too focused on Chinatsu, Manami didn't hear anything Izumi said.

She called out, hesitantly, taking a few steps towards Chinatsu. "China-chan? Hey, China-chan!" Chinatsu didn't turn.

At this point, Chinatsu was standing with her feet in the water. She swayed in the wind, loosely, before tumbling forward.

Manami yelled in surprise and leapt towards the surf, Izumi following close behind.

Reaching the ocean, Manami scanned the waves frantically.

"I don't see her! She's not where she went under!" Manami rushed into the shallows, screaming at Chinatsu to answer her.

Izumi staggered in as well, yelling at no one in particular.

The waves were unsettled now, and they pushed and pulled at the girls' legs. Slowly, Manami noticed, they were being pulled away from shore.

She turned to Izumi to tell her to be careful, but was knocked under the water herself.

Through blurry water, she caught a glimpse of Chinatsu's honey brown hair and frantically swam towards her. She grabbed Chinatsu, who was limp, and pulled her up to the surface.

Once reaching air, Chinatsu squirmed in Manami's arms and gasped.

Looking at her, unfocused, Chinatsu mumbled, "Mana-chan?"

Manami would have answered her, but she was focused on keeping the two of them afloat.

Her feet were nowhere near the bottom, and it was hard to tell which way was towards shore.

Chinatsu uttered a sound, the start of a word, but she was cut off by Izumi screaming.

The two tried to turn to Izumi to see what was the matter, but they were dragged underwater before they could even find her.

Manami yelped as Chinatsu was ripped from her arms, desperately trying to grab her as water forced its way inside her mouth.

The water was increasingly becoming darker, and she felt a funny since of pressure as she lost movement of her limbs.

She floated, almost lazily, down as her vision went completely dark.


	9. Chapter 8

**warning- a bit of body horror**

_- ...-ami... -_

Manami floated in a dark, quiet place.

- _Manami... -_

She couldn't see, couldn't feel. She felt so, so tired. She just wanted to go to sleep...

_- Manami! -_

Jolting at that last yell, Manami spun around as best she could (or maybe she didn't, it was too dark to tel)l. She searched for that familiar voice but found only blank silence. As she was about to drift back off, an unfamiliar voice whispered in her ear.

The woman spoke in a calm, soft voice.

_I am thou, and thou art I..._

_You have awakened your true self in your time of need... Don't let yourself fall into the monster's spell..._

'Monster's.. spell?' Manami weakly grabbed onto that thought and pushed the fuzziness in her mind back.

As she did, light started to surround her, and amazingly, she could see in the dark water that surrounded her.

Manami opened her mouth and the water stayed outside, seemingly pushed back by the bubble of light.

She turned as she heard a slight shift in the water around her. A woman, surrounded by an odd white aura, was gliding through the water on the back of some kind of creature. The woman held both Chinatsu and Izumi cradled in her arms, and the two girls seemed okay.

Manami cried out, as loud as she could, and swam to meet them. The woman kept her hold on the unconscious girls as Manami grabbed Chinatsu's face.

There was a dull glow, different from Manami's, the woman's, and each other's, around each of the girls. Manami wasn't sure how, but all three of them survived being dragged underwater.

Speaking of which, Manami stroked Chinatsu's hair to keep it from covering her face, where were they? She looked up, but she couldn't see the light from the surface.

Either they were so far down they couldn't see it, or so much time had passed that it was now night.

Or both.

How had they gotten so far underwater? Had they sank? And, more importantly, why weren't they dead?

How could they breathe?

As Manami began to hyperventilate from panic and confusion, the strange woman adjusted Chinatsu into her other arm with Izumi and cupped Manami's face.

She was a bit bigger than normal, Manami realized, as the large hand petted her soothingly. She leaned into hand and closed her eyes.

This was. This was impossible. She was dreaming again, right? Or maybe she was unconscious, or in a coma, hooked up to some machine in a hospital.

Manami bit the inside of her cheek, hard, and opened her eyes cautiously.

Nope, the gentle sea giantess was still in front of her, with the odd green serpent she rode, and the two girls still passed out in her arms.

Manami wanted to cry out in frustration, but a shape in the dark below grabbed her ankle before she could utter a sound and yanked her downwards.

She cried out, then, but from surprise and fear.

The white woman followed close behind Manami, her eyes suddenly filled with rage and shock.

Reaching her hands towards the woman, Manami screamed for help. The water pressure around her caused her to feel like she was being crushed, and it was almost too much for her when -rrrewwwr-

She landed on the floor of a marble covered room. The shadowy shapes that had grabbed Manami slunk off as she tried to recover from her not so soft landing. She glanced around, not quite comprehending how she had landed in this odd throne-room-looking place.

The water was clear here, Manami realized, and filled with light. She thought she had landed in somewhere with air, but the water here was more dense than regular water, so she only was suspended a little bit.

As she pushed herself up off the ground, the woman fluttered down letting Izumi and Chintsu carefully slide out of her arms.

In the clearer water, Manami realized the woman wasn't just bigger than normal, she was also a light green and scales covered her lower half.

Manami blushed and averted her eyes as she realized the woman also wasn't wearing a shirt. She focused on her legs instead.

They were a darker green, but not as dark as the creature she rode on. They weren't a tail, like a mermaid, but at first glance they could be mistaken for one.

Manami raised her head, slowly, to look the fish-woman in the eyes.

The woman's anger had subsided, and the lady's eyes were soft and calm. She smiled gently, and titled her head, her cropped hair hovering around her head like a dark halo.

Recognizing her almost immediately, Manami whispered, "Galateia." She didn't know how she knew the name, it just came to her as soon as she could see Galateia's face clearly.

Galateia grinned happily and reached towards Manami. A loud screech frightened Manami, and Galateia was suddenly in front of her, a snarl on her once-peaceful face.

Manami grabbed Chinatsu and (reluctantly) Izumi and pulled them behind Galateia. She peeked out behind the giantess and focused on a slit in the water that was turning restlessly.

A pair of dark arms appeared first, cloaked in liquid darkness, and a disfigured face followed soon after, the jaws open to expose long, jagged teeth.

Watching in horror, Manami squeezed the two girls against her as the rest of the monster slid out from the 'crack' in the water.

It seemed to mold itself into the shape of a person, and the figure grinned a large, happy grin as eyes sprouted out and blinked. They spun for a second before rolling across the sludgy face and switching spots.

Manami pulled her shoulders in tight as the thing began to speak, shuddering at the voice that sounded like someone had filmed a person gargling water and played it back on a static-y TV.

"Girls... how nice of you to, ah, visit me.." a wet pink tongue wriggled out from the monster's neck. "I've been _so_ lonely these, ah, past few days... Haven't had company since that lovely, ah, girl visited me a few days ago..."


	10. Chapter 9

**warning- more monster body horror**

Manami felt her blood run cold.

A girl? A few days ago..?

"Shiyako?" Manami mumbled out, her eyes wide as she stared at the grinning monster.

It had arranged itself into a more feminine shape, with curves and a thick black mane of sludge. Eyelashes jutted out from the cold eyes, and a distinctly more high-pitched giggle escaped from behind full lips.

"Was that, ah, her name?" The monster laughed somewhat amicably, raising her hand to her mouth. "Did you know her? Was she your, ah, _friend_?"

Manami felt a hard lump in her stomach, and she could feel anger and hate boiling within it.

She spat, her voice wavering, "What d-did you do to her?"

The monster mocked her. "What d-did_ I_ do to her? Nothing! It's not my fault she can't, ah, breathe _underwater_!"

At the last word, the monster burst out laughing and shrieked at the sudden horror that crossed Manami's face.

Manami blinked back tears, and glared at the monster. She was spinning in place, still giggling insanely to herself.

She stopped suddenly, and faced Manami with a blank look in her bulging eyes.

"And how is it _you_ can, ah, breathe underwater. Is it that woman's fault right there? I bet it is…" Galateia frowned when the monster pointed towards her, her mount shifting anxiously. The monster growled at her, and the water around them spun angrily. Manami almost lost her balance from the sudden swirling, and she hurried to right herself and the two unconscious girls.

After a pause, Galateia raised an arm and the water quieted.

The monsters eyes bulged and literally fell out of her head. "How can you..? Ah, never mind."

The monster turned and staggered. She reached up and another portal appeared in front of her. Calling over her shoulder, she fell into the slit, while more dark shapes appeared.

"You'll be dead soon, anyway. If you, ah, can't drown, then my children will kill you."

Manami yelled at her back, letting go of the girls and striding forward. "Wait! What is this? What did you do to Shiyako?!" She was about to scream more, when Galateia pulled her back.

The creatures had solidified into ghostly watery horses, and they pawed the ground and snorted as they walked towards the group.

They were beautiful, Manami thought, with pale flanks that simmered with bubbles, but their eyes glinted with bloodlust and hate. She shrank back into Galateia, and the woman pulled her into an embrace as she held up a hand.

_You must guide me. _

Manami jumped at the voice in her head. It was Galateia, Manami realized, and she looked up at her Persona's serious face.

'Persona…' Manami's eyes rolled back in her head for a quick second, but she gained a sudden clarity.

She knew Galateia, knew what she was and what was capable of. And she wasn't scared anymore.

Manami focused back on the Kelpies (her brain helpfully supplied the name), and scoffed. Galateia could take these monsters on easily.

Backing away from her Persona, Manami stood in front of Chinatsu and Izumi. The two girls were still unconscious, and a spike of worry shot through Manami before she shook it off. She had to focus now… No matter how powerful Galateia was, she couldn't use her power unless Manami directed her.

Manami took a deep breath and balanced herself as best she could.

She called out in a tight voice, "Galateia! Aques!"

The calm woman waved her hand and thrust it towards the closest Kelpie. It was knocked back from the force and it whinnied in surprise at the torrent of water.

Good, that was good. It wasn't enough to defeat them, but it certainly caused damage. Manami scanned through her brain for attacks that would affect more of the monsters.

While she was distracted, a nearby Kelpie shot a blast of mud at her, hitting her in the stomach.

Manami doubled over from the pain, stumbling back into Izumi. She almost tripped over the unconscious girl, before she caught herself, turning back to the Kelpies.

Noticing a Kelpie aiming a shot at Chintasu, Manami quickly pushed off the ground and knocked her over. She then did the same with Izumi, figuring it would be easier to protect them if they weren't bobbing straight up.

The other Kelpies had turned their attention Galateia, and while she dodged most of their attacks, Manami felt a dull ache in her arm as one of the Kelpies hit Galateia's corresponding one.

She called out, arm curled over her stomach, "Galateia, keep using Malaqua until they're all gone!" As her Persona heeded her commands, Manami blocked all attacks the Kelpies directed towards her and the girls.

It took less than a minute to dissipate the rest of the enemies, but by that time, Manami was barely standing, and tears leaked out of her eyes as she hunched over. She had taken quite a beating, and she was exhausted, bruised, and mentally drained.

Galateia rode over gazed sadly at Manami. She patted the girl on the head, but Manami knew there wasn't much Galateia could do to help her.

As Manami collapsed onto Galateia, the woman reached over her and pulled Izumi and Chinatsu into her lap, where Manami had curled up.

Manami was vaguely aware of the sea serpent that Galateia was perched on was rising upwards, and she barely noticed as light surrounded all of them as they rose towards the room's ceiling.

She could feel them going, up, up, up, so fast that it seemed she would have slid off if Galateia wasn't holding her, and she didn't fully realize what had happened until the broke the surface of the water.

Gasping in the fresh air, Manami paddled as she looked wildly around. They weren't too far out in open water, and Izumi and Chinatsu were floating safely beside her. There was no sign of Galateia, but Manami could feel a light tug pulling her and the others towards the shore.

She leaned back and let herself be swept back to land.

~lil while later~

Manami sat in the shallows, staring up at the moon.

It was quite beautiful, as it made its slow descent into the sky. Normally the sight would have cheered her up slightly, but now she just thought about how tired she was and how much she wanted to sleep.

Chinatsu and Izumi were sprawled on the sand, still unconscious. Manami watched their chests lift with light breaths and sighed to herself.

Well, she'd saved Chinatsu, and by extension herself and Izumi, but she still didn't feel too great.

She ached, and she was confused, and she was't sure what to say when the other two woke up.

Speaking of which, Chinatsu seemed to be stirring.

Chinatsu let out a soft grunt before rolling on her side. She locked eyes with Manami, and whispered, hoarsely, "Mana-chan? Where are.. what..?"

Trying to smile and failing miserably, Manami choked out, "Oh, we uh, we were swimming and you hit your head and…"

She trailed off at groan Izumi made as she pushed herself off the ground.

The bushy haired girl squinted and muttered, "Where in the hell…" Izumi turned to Chinatsu. "Who the…" Finished muttering, Izumi turned towards Manami, who gave her a sullen glare before replying.

"We went out swimming and the waves were rough, so we got dragged underwater." Manami stared dutifully down at her feet, not meeting the confused girls' eyes.

But Chinatsu shook her head and furrowed her brow, bewilderment in her voice, "Wait, no way, I was at work and-" She stopped short and held her head before continuing. "I heard a voice and… I left? What, why would I…" Scrunching up her nose, Chinatsu closed her eyes in thought.

She opened them when Izumi spoke next, the girl shaking her own head as she recounted, "We saw you, like, sleepwalking towards the ocean, so we ran after to you. But then we fell in, or somethin'?"

The two girls turned to Manami, who still refused to meet their eyes.

Manami drew a swirl in the sand.

She hesitantly recounted the story to them, figuring if they didn't believe they might just think she was delusional from nearly drowning.

**hey, look, things actually happened!**

**responding to Guest- Igor only gets grumpy when he has a snarky lil shit of an attendant. Elizabeth and Margaret have their quirks, but they're usually cooperative (and I don't see Theo capable of causing any trouble at all). Alistair, however, has an attitude that grates on Igor's.**

**I really don't have an opinion on Igor, because he's barely in the games besides fusing you Personas. ((*whispers* he's kind of boring)) Because he really doesn't have a personality, it gives me a bit of freedom to mess with how he reacts to a more vocal attendant and protagonist.**

**sorry this reply is so long, i just wanted to show a little of my thought process**


	11. Chapter 10

Manami had figured her story would at least stun Izumi and Chinatsu into a confused silence. No such luck.

She had barely made it through the entire thing, with the two talkative girls asking so many questions and exclaiming things like "No way!" and "_Really_?" and "Shut _up_!"

After almost angrily giving up- the two girls had pulled her down and begged her to continue- Manami was in a testy mood and was possibly a bit harsher than she should have been.

Chinatsu seemed to notice Manami's growing irritation, so she quieted Izumi enough that Manami finished her story with only a slight headache.

Burying her face into her knees, Manami listened to the two chatty girls discuss her recollection. One of them would idly throw a question her way every once in a while, but the other would jump on it with an elaborate idea, leaving Manami, thankfully, out of the conversation.

They were all startled by the sound of a peppy J-pop song suddenly blaring from nearby, and Chinatsu uttered a curse as she pulled her phone out of her bra. The girls' clothes were wet, but it seemed not too much water had seeped in to destroy Chinatsu's phone.

While Izumi stared at her phone, pulled out from her jacket pocket, in dismay, Manami glanced across the sand, looking for her backpack. It had slipped off whenever she ran after Chinatsu, and her own phone was tucked away in one of it's pockets. It didn't seem to still be there, though…

Izumi looked curiously on as Chinatsu stood up and paced away to answer her phone. Manami followed after her, dusting off her skirt. The worry she had earlier came back full force, and she didn't want to leave Chinatsu alone again.

After a stressful conversation with her mom (both she and the woman who ran the konbini Chinatsu worked at, Kae-baasan, were worried about Chinatsu's sudden disappearance), Chinatsu hung up her phone with a sigh. She turned to Manami with a small apologetic smile.

"Sorry, I had to throw you under the bus right there. I told my mom you needed me, and that was why I ran off." Chinatsu scratched her cheek and furrowed her brow. "It was the best I could do, 'cause I don't know what really happened."

Izumi chirped from behind them, "It probably had to do with that monster!" The two standing girls turned to Izumi, who leapt up off the sand. She grinned and waved her arms excitedly, "Yeah, she probably did stuff and, like, lured you into the sea!"

Frowning, Chinatsu mumbled as she thought back. "I… I guess so? One moment I was stocking Meiji Marble and then I was here." She clenched her eyes and grunted, her face turning red as she tried to physically remember more.

She opened her eyes and let out a puff of air after Manami whapped her lightly on the face. Chinatsu shook her head and muttered, "Nope, sorry, I put a tube on the shelf and then suddenly I woke up with sand on my face."

Tutting, Izumi walked over and patted Chinatsu on the shoulder. "There there, you did the best you could. Still, this is so cool!" She twirled and giggled, "We've all got these awesome powers now!"

Manami's head snapped towards her. "What," she said in a flat voice. "Are you saying…?"

Nodding, Izumi smiled and thrust her fist into the air. "Melusine!" she called, and after a pause she added, "I don't think we can summon them out of the water. 'least, that's what I guess."

Izumi made a surprised face and then asked Chinatsu, "Oh, sorry, I just kinda assumed… Do you..?" She trailed off at Chinatsu's nod.

The honey brunette was staring down at her feet, shivering. Chinatsu muttered in a tired voice, "Yeah, I think so.. Oh, I never get your name. I'm Suzuki Chinatsu." She gave a weak bow.

Bowing in response, Izumi replied, "Fukushi Izumi, let's get along."

Manami frowned and stepped closer to Chinatsu. "You don't look so well." She reached up to touch Chinatsu's forehead, but Chinatsu backed away and shivered.

"Yeah, I feel horrible. I told my mom I was on my way home, so I should just go." Chinatsu sneezed and made a groaning noise.

Nodding reluctantly, Manami spoke in a concerned tone, "I'll walk you home, I don't want you collapsing."

Chinatsu laughed, cheering up a bit, "I'm not _that_ sick, c'mon, your house is the complete opposite way." She smiled weakly. "I'll be fine, Mana-chan."

Manami turned to Izumi, who shook her head and rolled her eyes. "She's fine, girlie, calm down. I'm not in any hurry to leave."

Sighing, Manami hugged Chinatsu and told her to be safe.

The two girls waved as Chinatsu trudged across the sand, and Manami and Izumi were left alone together on the beach.

Manami turned as Izumi called to her, nervously, "Hey…"

**hiatus-ish time?**

**trying to find a job right now, applying to colleges and all that.**

**i'll update when i've got time to really sit down and think about this story and persona in general.**

**see ya til then. :]**


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